Screw-down mechanism for rolling mills



De.18,.1928. A 1,695,274

' w. C. CORYELL. K

SCREW-DOWN lMEGHANISM FOR ROLLING MILLS Filed Aug. 13, 1925 2 sweets-:sheetk 1 Dec. 1s, 1928. 1,695,274

W. C. CORYELL SCREW-DOWN MECHANISM FOR ROLLING MILLS Filed Aug. 13, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 operation andA economical to manufacture. To this end I provide a novel driving struc# ture wherein actuating membersand'pinions- :tor driving the holding-down screws are Patente-inea 1s, 192s..

,WILLIAM o. commu., on YoUNGsToWN, omo.

SCREW-Down fmncnamsiu non` nonnina MILLS.

Appucauon md august 13, 1925.- -serial No. 49h83.

The present invention relates to screwdown mechanisms for use upon rolling mills.

generally., .and more particularly to mechanisms ofl this class whereinv the -rolls of the mill are adjustable independently to -bring' them into parallelism, and then when so adjusted, further adjustable up and-down while vmaintained in parallelism The principal object ofthe invention isl to provide a screw-downl mechanism l`having these two capabilitiesot adjustmenhwhrch shall be simplein construction, 'efficient-11n mounted compactly., one'pinion andits actu- Vating member on a shaft for operating one -en-d of the rollfand the Aother pinion and its actuating member on a sleeve rotatable upon said shaft for operating the lother end ot" the roll. This concentricor. co-axial arrange-- ment lends itself readily. to diiit'erent embodiments. If the screws have'left and right hand threads respectively, then-the driving :mem-

.bersfmove yoppos'itely to r give the adjustment wit-h the-,rolls .in-parallelism andjin the same.

directibn to :adjust the rollsvinto-parallelism.

0nthe other hand bygiving both screws the same threads, the' actuating members move together to give the `adjustmentin parallelism and 'oppositely to' adjust to parallelism. In

the `former case a- .preferred construction is to constitute the actuating members bevel gear wheels yand ytol drive them by an inter-- mediate bevel ,gear 4pinion forjthe adjustment -wh-ilemaintaining parallelism, and 'to rotate the threebevel .gear wheels together -asa unit .'for the-adjustment to `parallelism, the inter .mediate pinion being mountedon -a :rotary member. for this purpose. The diif'erent features and possible embodiments of thefinvendrawings, and the scope ofthe invention will be particularly pointed outinrthe appended tionwillbe more fully understood upon reference @to the 4following detailed description,

taken in connection with the accompanying claims.

' In said drawings, Fig. '1 is a sideeievauon of the upperportion of a rollingmill having -a screw-'down-mechanism constructed in accordance with. thev present inventionfor the operation of"-lioldingdown screws having rightand left-hand threads respectively; Fig. 2 is a plan vView ofthe same Fig. .3 `is `an elevation illustrating a modification wherein thefmembers for giving the adjustment of4 the rolls while maintaining them in parallelism are actuated by amanually operated hand wheel instead vot by power driven members g' Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the. structure ot Fig. 1,taken on a plane indicated by the line Ll-.e1L` of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 isa similar vertical' section, taken on a plane indicated by the lineJ-bf'Fi 2 j villustratingthe rake and ,clamping mechanism for controlling the rotary member by'` n Fig. 6 is la detail view which the structure of Fig. 1 is'l 'venits" adjustment into and out o'parallehSm; and

Fig. 7 is an elevation of. a part-ot the same structure"illustratingl a modification wherein said rotary member is power driven.

Throughout these views like characters refer to like parts.

yReferring tolsald drawings in detail, 11`

designates vthe housing of thel r olling,mill upon which the screw-downmechanism is employed. This housing is provided with openings for the passage of the holding-down screws 12L and 12R. These are threaded as usual l through corresponding screw-down openings by an suitable means, as the screws '14'. Each hol ing-down screw' lis provided witha breaker block 15 which bearsupon the engaged by the-necks of the roll 17 and the latter is held up in position against the top roll bearings 16 by top roll carriers 18 which bear against the under side of the necks of the roll 17. The carriers-18 may be'forced upward by any suitable mechanism, and in this instance springs 19 are shown 'for this purnuts 13L and-13R, fitted and secured in said j. toparollbearings 16. The bearingsl 16 are" pose, although it is obvious that counterweights might be employed such as illustrated in my prior Patent No. 1,233,647, ydated July 17, 1917. The roll 17 is provided at one end with a projection 2O which is adapted to be 'connected to thedriving spindle 21 lby a coupling 22. The rolling mill construction illustrated is' merely typical, and only one roll of the mill is' illustrated. It should therefore be understood 'that the mill construction may begreatly varied, and still it will be possible to use the novel screw-down mechanism herein` disclosed. i 1

The upper portion of the housing 11 is provided with a screw-down frame 23 'wherein spaces 24h and 24R are provided for the upward movements'ot` the screws 12L and 12R respectively. At a point beneath these spaces the holding-down screws are yprovided. with driving members in the form of gear wheels 251' and 25H. These wheels are provided withsquare'or` other angular openings through 12E, ass, their upper ends being shaped to fit the olesin the wheels. The wheels 25?J and R are mounted to rotate between the screwdown frame 23 and the upper part of` the. housing 11. Bearing rings 26 are positioned on the upper'sides of these wheels as illus'- trated. With this construction .the rotation of the wheels 25L and 25R Vcauses a corresponding rotation lof the screwsI 121fand 12R respectively, the screw in each instance passing upward through the opening in the wheel.

The screw-down frame 2 3 has a portion which extends beyond the peripheries of the wheels 25 and 25K, and directly beneath such portion is an extension 27 upon the housing 11. The latter provides a support for the lower end of a vertical shaft 28 which lies close to the peripheries of both gear wheels 25L and 25, This shaft also extends through the overhanging portion of the screw-down fra-me 23. The shaft 28 hasa foot bearing 29 in the extension 27 of the housing 11 and just above the latter is provided with a driving pinion 30 which meshes with the gear wheel 25R. The bearing `at the lower end of the shaft is provided with a suitable lubricating connection 31. Surrounding' shaft 28 isa concentric shaft or sleeve.32.` This sleeve carries at its lower end a. driving piniony33 which meshes with the gear wheel 251'. At the point where the sleeve 32 passes through the screw-down frame 23 it is provided with a bearing 34 in the form of a bushing of suitable metal. The upper end of the sleeve 32 .carries a driving member in the formof a bevel gear wheel 35. The latter is secured to the sleeve in any suitable way, as by the v key 36. In like manner the upper end of the shaft 28 is provided with a driving member in the form of a bevel gear wheel 37 which is similarly secured to the shaft by a key 38. The teeth upon the wheels and 37 oppose each other andare in position to be engaged by intermediate bevel pinions 39. With this construction it will be seen that when either of the pinions 39 is driven, the .actuating wheels 35 and 37 will be moved in opposite directions. Such movement will cause `the driving pinions 3G and 33 to` move in opposite directions to drive the gear wheels 251' and 25R andthe screws 12L and 12R in opposite directions. Such1 a movement will, because of the right and. left hand threads,

cause the screws to riseand fall uniformly,

thus raisingor lowering the breaker blocks 15 without changing the angularity `ofthe upper roll 17.

From what hasbeen said it will be seen that if the actuating wheels 35 and 37 canbe moved together'as a unit, about the axis of the shaft 28, then the screws 12L and 12R nagaan would be moved uniformly in the same direction, and then, because of the right and left hand threads upon them, one screw 15 would be raised at a given rate and the other screw 15 would be loweredat the same rate. Suchl movementlwould change the angular position of the roll 17 and operate to change its angu- 'larity with reference to its companion roll.

By this means it would be possible to bring the l two rolls into exact parallelism. Now, in or- I5v der to accomplish this movement of the driving wheels 35 and 37 as a unit, about the axis of the shaft 28, I provide means for rotating all the bevel gear wheels 35, 37, and 39 together. For this purpose the shaft 40 of each bevel pinion 39 is mounted in bearings in a casing 41, andthe latter is mounted upon a rotary member42 which rotates about the axis of the shaft 28. The member 42 is, in the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, a large hand wheel and at its center is provided with a bearing in the form of a bushing 43 which engages the outer surface of the sleeve 32. To assist in ease of movement, the hub 44 of the wheel 42 and the adjacent portion of the 90 screw-down frame 23 are' provided with intermediate ball bearings 45. In like manner, the upper portion' of the hub 44 and the lower portion of the gear wheel 35 are provided with ball 'bearings 46. Preferably also, ball bearings 47 are provided between .the hubs of the wheels 35 and 37 With this construction it will be seen that a rotation of the wheel 42 will cause a differential movement of the actuating members 35 and 37 `with a re- 10o sulting differential movement of the breakers 15, as previously pointed out. t Although the member 42 is shown as a hand wheel in the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, yet it will be clear that the 105 t same may be replaced by a member 42', which is the same in construction as the member 42, except that it is provided with worm gear teeth upon its periphery, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 7. The teeth upon the member 42 11n are in mesh with a driving worm 48 upon the shaft of an electric motor y49 secured to the outer end of an extension 5() of the screw-A down frame 23. Where this construction is employed the driving of the member 42 is 115 accomplished by the motor 49 which may be suitably controlled from a distant point, as the pulpit of a rolling mill.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. l1, V the shafts which carry .the bevel pinions 39 120 are mountedin casings 41, as before noted, t and these casings enclose in veach instance a worm. wheel 51 which is 4secured to the shaft 40 and mesheswith a worm 5 2, whose shaft 53 is coupled by acoupling 54 to the shaft of. 125 an electric motor 55 mounted directly upon the rotary member 42. When itis desired to drive the wheels 35 yand 37 oppositely to raise the breakersl, then oneoi the motors 55 is operated and the other is inactive,and x30 when it is desired to move the breakers in the opposite direction then the first motor is inactive and the second is thrown into circuit and driven.

At this point it may be noted that the shaft 28 not only has a foot bearing in the projec,

tion 27 but also has a top bearing in a yoke 56 which extends between the casings 41 to which it is secured at its opposite ends. v

In lieu of the power driven shafts 40, which carry the bevel pinions 39, I may employin some instances a similar shaft 40', which -Ii-nds its bearings in brackets 57 and 58 secured to the upper side of the rotary member 42, as illustratedin Fig. 3. The shaft 40 is provided'with a hand wheel 59. By rotation of the latter it is possible to r0- tate the bevel-.pinion 39 and thus actuate the wheels 35 and 37 tobring about the adjustment of the rolls up and down without changing the angular relation ofthe one tothe other.v In this modified structure the rotation of the wheel 42 brings about the adjustment' into .and out of parallelism just as before. In this form of the invention tlieyoke 56 is replaced by yoke 56 which is a continuation of the bracket 57. v f

For the control of the rotary member 42 I provide the under side of the member withy a peripheral 'flange60 which cooperates with two clamping and braking members 61 mounted upon right and left handed threads on a shaft 62 suitablyjournaled in portions of the screw-down frame"23. In the einbodiment shown the outer end of the shaft 62 car- 'riesa gear wheel 63 which meshes with a ge'ar wheel 64 mounted on a stud shaft 65 which carries a hand wheel 66. By the rotation of the wheel 66, the shaft 62 is rotated and the members 61 are drawn together or separated. When drawn together, they contact with the flange and serve to brake the rotation of the wheel 42 and, when drawn together tight enough, clamp the wheel 42 against rotation. An opposite movement of the wheel 66 frees the members -61 from the fiange 60 andleave's the wheel free for rotation. Obviously, other braking and` clamping means might be em;

ployed for the ber 42.

It will be understood that in carrying out my invention it is passible to make changes icontrol of the rotary mem- .and alterations' in the structures otherfthan the changesand alterations embodied in the modifications yillustrated and described, without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. I therefore do not wish to be limitcd to the particular arrangements and structures disclosed. but aim to cover by the terms of the appended claims not only such modifications as are disclosed butv all those which properly come within the' purview of my invention.

It wilhbe obvious too that it will be possible-to control the'circuits of the motors 55,

trains having more wheels in each train and yet the invention would not be departed from.

It may also be noted that although I have described the main screws 12L and i121. as holding-down screws, they are also known as screw-down screws and adjusting screws.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by a patent of the United States is:

1. screw-down mechanismv for rolling mills, comprisingJ holding-down screws, two opposed bevel gear wheels, an intermediate bevel gear wheel meshing with said opposed wheels, means for rotating said intermediate wheel to d rive said opposed wheels, means for moving said three wheels asa unit, a shaft to which one ofsaid opposed gear wheels is secured, a sleeve rotatable on said shaft, the

other of said'opposedgear wheels being secured to said sleeve, and independent gear trainsbetween'said screws and shaft 'and sleeve respectively whereby different adjust-v ments of said screws are obtained in response to unitary and differential movements of said gear wheels.

2. A screw-down mechanism for rolling.`

mills, comprising holding-down screws, a vertical shaft, a sleeve rotatable on said shaft, two opposed bevel gear wheels secured respectively to said. shaft and sleeve, a rotary member movable .about the axis of said vertical shaft, a bearing on said member, a horizontal shaft in said bearing, an intermediate bevel 'gear wheei securedy to said horizontal shaft and intermeshing with said opposed bevel gear wheels, means whereby said hori- 'Zontal shaft may be rotated, and gearing operative betweeirsaid screws and saidvertical shaft and sleeve respectively .to-adjust said screws'oppositely or together in response t0' the movements of saidrotary member and horizontal shaft 'actuating means.

3. A screw-down' mechanism for rolling mills, comprising ay housing having a screwdown frame, a telescoping'shaft and sleeve mounted for independent relative rotation in ,saidv frame, 'a Lrotary member mounted upon said Yframe for rotation aboutthe axis of said shaft 'and sleeve, means for clamping said rotary member to said frame, driving ics f members secured to said shaft and sleeve rei spectively, a third driving member secured tosaid rotary member, driving connections between said third driving member and said and said shaft'and sleeve respectively to ad,

just said screws up and down together or differentially in accordance with the opera-v tions of said driving members.

4. A screvv-dovvn mechanism for rolling mills, comprising a housing having a screwdoWn frame, a verticalv sleeve journaled in said frame, a vertical shaft rotatable in said sleeve, a horizontal rotary member mounted on said frame for rotation about the axis of said shaft and sleeve, a peripheral rib on the under side of said rotarymember, clamping means mounted on said frame and operative to engage said rib to clamp said rotary member, driving members secured tosaid shaft and sleeve respectively, a third driving ment ber secured to said rotary member, driving connections between said third driving member andl said rstmentioned driving memgether or differentially innccordance with the operations of said driving members.

In -Witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 29th day of uly, 1925.

\ WILLIAM C. ooRYEILL. 

